Northwestern gives $188K to Chicago, Evanston youth groups

Northwestern announced Monday it will donate more than $188,000 to six youth organizations in Chicago and Evanston.

The money comes from the football bowl revenues relinquished by Penn State to other Big Ten schools earlier this year.

Each group will receive about $31,000, according to the University.

“These organizations provide important services to protect and assist children and youths in Evanston and Chicago," University President Morton Schapiro said in a news release. "We are pleased to be able to provide this financial support to help them carry out their important missions."

In Evanston, the donation will benefit Metropolitan Family Services Evanston/Skokie Valley, the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, YWCA Evanston/North Shore and Youth Organizations Umbrella. The Chicago groups are the Night Ministry, which helps homeless young people, and Northwestern Settlement, which offers preschool and after-school programs to children and families in the West Town area.

In July, all 12 schools in the Big Ten agreed to donate what would have been Penn State's football bowl revenues to youth causes. Penn State would have earned almost $2.3 million during this year's bowl season if it were not banned due to NCAA sanctions stemming from assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of children.